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This book deals with the recent court case in Cape Town, South Africa, between members of our Movement there and some organisations of Sunni Muslim religious leaders, in which the essential issue was whether Ahmadis are Muslims or not. By the grace of God, the final verdict was pronounced in our favour. The court accepted the plaintiff’s claim that Ahmadis are Muslims, and on that basis it granted an order prohibiting the defendants from publishing false allegations that Ahmadis are outside the fold of Islam and must be ostracised by the Muslim community. The court also granted orders restraining the defendants from denying our members the right to use a certain mosque and cemetery, meant to be open to all Muslims.

Not only have we always claimed to be and considered ourselves to be Muslims, but in fact our organisation — The Ahmadiyya Anjuman Isha‘at Islam Lahore — was founded for the very purpose of disseminating knowledge of Islam among non-Muslims and Muslims, and showing the truth of Islamic teachings. These beliefs and aims were strongly proclaimed by Hazrat Mirza Ghulam Ahmad (d. 1908), who started the Ahmadiyya Movement.

Throughout the history of our Movement, all fair-minded Muslims have regarded us as their Muslim brothers and have even commended our work. It is only the politically motivated religious leaders, with their hold on the masses, who have all through spread false propaganda against us and persecuted us, and denied us our due rights.

It was adverse circumstances of this kind which compelled our members in Cape Town to approach the courts to seek relief from the relentless campaign of abuse, vilification and maltreatment waged against them. Otherwise, we do not take part in inter-Muslim sectarian disputes, thereby wasting time and resources which could be spent constructively. We only put our case and complaint before Almighty Allah.

The account of the three-year long litigation is summarised in Part I of this book. It shows clearly that the defendants, and more importantly the “international anti-Ahmadiyya experts” whose help they had, tried their hardest to prevent the court from admitting religious evidence, i.e. evidence based on the teachings of Islam as to the definition of a Muslim, and whether Ahmadis fulfil that definition. This itself is proof that their allegations against our Movement have no religious basis. They asserted that the court must simply accept their verdicts about Ahmadis as authoritative. When the court rejected this position, the defendants withdrew from the case.

The evidence presented on the plaintiff’s behalf at the final hearing by our distinguished scholar Maulana Hafiz Sher Mohammad, ably assisted by Dr. Zahid Aziz as translator, is reproduced in Part III. It should dispel the various misconceptions prevalent about our beliefs. A notable feature of this evidence is that, by quoting extensively from the writings of Hazrat Mirza Ghulam Ahmad, it makes clear the position of this holy man who has been so much misrepresented by various quarters. As head of the Lahore Ahmadiyya Movement, I affirm that this evidence is a true and accurate representation of the beliefs our Movement has always held and proclaimed.

This book has been compiled as a concise source of information for those in search of the true facts regarding the beliefs of the Ahmadiyya Anjuman Lahore. I commend it to all students of Islamic matters, especially to Muslims themselves, with the prayer that God may cause its truth to enter their hearts. I am sure that this book will also be an invaluable source of information for Ahmadis, especially the younger ones, as regards the claims of Hazrat Mirza Ghulam Ahmad.

Dr. Saeed Ahmad Khan, S.K.
President, Ahmadiyya Anjuman Lahore,
Head of the Lahore Ahmadiyya Movement.
February 1989.

Webmaster’s Note: This Foreword, dated 1989, is to the second edition of The Ahmadiyya Case. The second edition has not yet been published in print, but is the version available on this website. The Foreword in the printed, first edition, is dated December 1986, and was slightly revised in 1989 to the above version.